Kiersten Muenchinger is an Associate Professor and the Director of the Product Design Program at the University of Oregon. Muenchinger researches and teaches the intersection of materials, manufacturing and design with an emphasis on sustainability tactics and metrics. Her current research utilizes Kansei engineering principles to measure how consumers perceive the sustainability of consumer product materials. She develops more sustainable product businesses with the Green Product Design Network and the Eugene RAIN accelerator at UO. Her work applying experimental materials in outdoor furniture has most recently been exhibited in ShowPDX, Portland and Salão Design, Brazil. Kiersten was the Industrial Designers Society of America’s (IDSA) Young Educator of the Year in 2011, and one of the Design Intelligence 30 Most Admired Educators for 2015. Before joining UO, Kiersten was a design engineer with IDEO, Fitch, Sottsass Associatti, Walt Disney Imagineering, and the Long Now Foundation.